Monthly Archives: April 2017

In this final installment on dioramas in Spain, we journey to the Castillo de Almodovar, a picturesque medieval castle perched atop a hill near the town of Cordoba, Spain. The castle is based on a roughly rectangular floor plan of 5,624 square metres. Access is via a long, winding road to the castle entrance at the top of the hill. Once inside, a long ramp takes you to the Courtyard of Arms. From here you can see a total of nine towers, the highest of which is 33 metres tall. Architecturally, the castle is a mix of Neo-Mudejar (Moorish Revival), Gothic and Romanesque styles.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a diorama of the castle within its walls, set up in the centre of a small, dungeon-like room. Projectors in the ceiling illuminate the diorama with lighting effects, re-enacting a siege of the castle, and speakers provide sound.

Displaying a single diorama in the centre of a dark room, with nothing else to distract, gives it a certain theatricality. As you enter, the diorama commands your full attention.

The diorama consists of the castle itself, the hilltop base, and nothing else. There are no figures of attacking soldiers, or armaments being brought to bear. All these extra elements are provided by the projectors in the ceiling, along with flame and explosion effects. As with the diorama from Quebec City, Canada I discussed, there’s an integration of physical and virtual elements which work together to create a complete experience for the visitor.

The Castillo de Almodovar has a long history. Originally a Berber fortress built in 760, the castle came under Christian rule with Fernando III in 1240. Beginning in 1360, it served as the royal residence of Pedro I. It underwent numerous architectural changes with each new owner. The castle was eventually handed over to the knightly Order of Calatrava and then to the Order of Santiago. The Earl of Torralva undertook an extensive restoration of the castle from 1903 to 1936. Twelve centuries after its initial construction, the castle not only still stands but is remarkably well preserved.

In this third installment on dioramas in Spain, we have a 1:1 scale recreation of the Zeluan Airfield operated by the Spanish Army near Melilla, Morocco, between 1913 and 1927. This 1,000 square metre display, completed in 2016, takes up an entire hangar at the Museo de Aeronautica y Astronautica in Madrid, Spain. How’s that for a super-sized diorama?

Spanish Army garrisons served the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from the late 19th Century until Morocco gained its independence in 1956. In the early 1920s, Spanish forces were tasked with quelling an uprising by the Berbers—tribes of the Rif, a mountainous region in the north of Morocco. Spain and its ally France deployed some 150 aircraft in the Rif War, also called the Second War of Morocco.

The Zeluan Airfield diorama is bisected by a path that visitors follow as they explore the scene. Large panels on the walls show maps of North Africa. A few truckloads of sand appear to have been brought in to recreate the desert base. But the stars of the diorama are the replicas of five period aircraft. The first of these is a French Morane-Saulnier G, a wire-braced monoplane which first flew in 1912. The second is a British AVRO 504. Due to its outstanding performance in WWI, Spain acquired 50 units of this model.

Third is a German Fokker C-III, a reconnaissance aircraft, and fourth, a British De Havilland DH4. One DH4 was apparently acquired as a civilian donation. The residents of various towns in Spain collectively raised money to buy the plane, and gave it to the army as a gift.

Last and perhaps most significant is the Bristol F.2B, a British two-seat fighter aircraft which first flew in 1916. It featured innovations such as a Rolls-Royce Falcon inline engine and a Vickers .303 inch machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller. A second swivel-mounted gun was operated by the observer, who faced the rear of the aircraft. The F.2B became the most successful two-seat fighter of WWI and nearly 5,000 units were produced, serving in over a dozen air forces around the world. Although designed primarily as a fighter, the F.2B was also adapted for bombing and reconnaissance duties.

Aerial tactics in the Rif War included strafing attacks and makeshift bombing runs in which explosives were thrown by hand at enemy infantry positions. The bombs were designed to fall nose first, and a fuse in the nose detonated the bomb on impact.

The diorama was completed over the course of five months. The first three were dedicated to finding the right clothes and weapons to equip the 16 mannequins featured in the diorama. The mannequins represent mechanics, gunsmiths, pilots, and office clerks. The remaining two months involved assembling everything to create the final scene. Impressive!